The prosecution of a store owner murderer gets complicated by the Jewish origin of the defendant

A definitely above average episode. A storekeeper is found dead shot several times. The detectives follow the trail of the stolen goods and discover discrepancies in the inventory. The suspected killer, son of one of the partners, prefers to flee to Israel and hide there, protected by Jewish law from extradition. The D.A. office has to undermine his Jewish origin - based on his adoption, they claim he has never undergone a ritual bath, necessary for becoming a Jew. Only then Israel allows his extradition and in a subsequent trial he pleads guilty.I always like when the series brings something new, I didn't know about this condition in the Israeli justice system, now I do.moreless

Mr. Feldman

Recurring Role

Jeffrey Belichek

Recurring Role

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

FILTER BY TYPE

TRIVIA (1)

Goof: Abbie's description of the rules for a valid conversion to Judaism is incorrect. For a male convert, the three requirements are (1) a ritual circumcision; (2) acceptance of the commandments; (3) immersion in a mikvah (ritual bath). Giving a Hebrew name has nothing to do with it (although converts do adopt one *afer* they have converted). Furthermore, a doctor's certificate attesting to the circumcision would be insufficient, since the circumcision would not have been done for the specific purpose of the conversion. A male who is already circumcised who wants to convert undergoes a symbolic circumcision (in which "one drop" of blood is sufficient to mark the entrance into the covenant). And when a child is converted, when he or she reaches bar/bat mitzvah age (13 for boys, 12 for girls), he or she is given the option of accepting or rejecting the conversion retroactively.

QUOTES (5)

Nora Lewin: If the case depends on the jury believing a career criminal who's cut a deal, I'd say we're in trouble.Jack McCoy: We have a defendant who left the country rather than stand trial.Nora Lewin: Which the defense will attribute to a combination of panic and religious fervor.Abbie Carmichael: We could also establish that he was stealing from the business.Nora Lewin: A business his father half-owned.Jack McCoy: Are you suggesting that we offer him a deal?Nora Lewin: After what we went through to get him back here? Not on your life!

Rabbi #1: We offer no opinion on the sincerity of Mr. Becker's beliefs, or on who's entitled to try him where and for what. This is not up to us. All we can determine is whether the standard for conversion has been met. Without proof of a mikveh, we have to say it has not. Also, we see no evidence that, to this point, Eli Becker has been living what we could call a Jewish lifestyle. Accordingly, Eli Becker is ruled not Jewish.(Eli's father shouts in Hebrew and jumps out of his seat in fury)Feldman: Rabbis? Rabbis, can I be heard?Rabbi #1: Our ruling will be put into writing and made available to both sides by the end of the day.Mr. Becker: I had half my family die in the ovens! Who the hell are you to tell me that my son is not Jewish?!Rabbi #1: Sorry, Mr. Becker. This is not up to us.Mr. Becker: A stinking technicality! And these momzers'll hang him for it!Rabbi #3: The Talmud has no technicalities, Mr. Becker, only laws.Mr. Becker: Drop dead!

NOTES (0)

ALLUSIONS (3)

Jack McCoy: Tell that to the Iranians who had to run for their lives from the Ayatollah, or the Afghani girls who can't leave their houses anymore.

Jack McCoy's examples of religious extremism refer to the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979 and the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban who ruled Afghanistan at the time this episode was originally aired. The Taliban took power by force in 1996. They were notorious for harboring Al Qaeda terrorists, not allowing women and girls to work or go to school, forcing women to wear burkas, and enforcing their laws with floggings, amputations and executions.

Jonathan Pollard is a former American Naval Intelligence officer who was convicted of spying for Israel. He allegedly gave Israel the names of American agents in the Soviet Union, which the Israelis in turn gave to the Soviets in return for the Soviets letting Jews emigrate to Israel.

This episode appears to be ripped from the headlines of the Samuel Sheinbein case.Sheinbein, who in 1997 killed and dismembered a man, was allowed by the Israeli Supreme Court to stand trial and serve his time in Israel, unlike in this episode. This led to changes in Israeli law (which made the storyline of this episode possible).

Important:
You must only upload images which you have created yourself or that you are expressly authorised or licensed to upload. By clicking "Publish", you are confirming that the image fully complies with TV.com’s Terms of Use and that you own all rights to the image or have authorization to upload it.

Please read the following before uploading

Do not upload anything which you do not own or are fully licensed to upload. The images should not contain any sexually explicit content, race hatred material or other offensive symbols or images. Remember: Abuse of the TV.com image system may result in you being banned from uploading images or from the entire site – so, play nice and respect the rules!